If I haven't really been in full blogging mode since I've arrived it's because I've been preoccupied with settling in-getting things like a phone, apartment, bank account and my papers in order for my stay here.
The phone was easy, the papers somewhat so, and the bank account is still to come, but the detail that was giving me the biggest headache was the housing. The routine- scanning the ads, noting numbers, making calls, leaving messages. I realized early on that e-mail was NOT the way to go, as no one answers them. But even when I switched to phone, very often the room would be taken by the time I called, or not available until October 1. Frustration!
Last night I was freaking out because I was having trouble setting up visits. And then, I got a bunch of calls to set up visits, and then, a call from an apartment I had visited the day before and really liked, offering me the room! ( I accepted right away.)
So today I went and picked up the keys for my new place. It's in Sarriko, a couple of metro stops outside of the centre, near Bilbao's universities. We've got tenth floor views of the river and hills around the city, and two balconies. My roommates are Xavier, from Barcelona, and Florentino, from Bilbao, who study economics at the Universidad del Pais Vasco. There will be another roommate to come.
We spent the afternoon redecorating. We're subletting the apartment from this old woman, and let's just say all her throw rugs, collages of her dogs, and framed velvet pictures of Jesus feeding the lambs got thrown into the cupboard pretty fast. Even the candy in the crystal candy bowl was about 50 years old.
Tomorrow I move in!
The phone was easy, the papers somewhat so, and the bank account is still to come, but the detail that was giving me the biggest headache was the housing. The routine- scanning the ads, noting numbers, making calls, leaving messages. I realized early on that e-mail was NOT the way to go, as no one answers them. But even when I switched to phone, very often the room would be taken by the time I called, or not available until October 1. Frustration!
Last night I was freaking out because I was having trouble setting up visits. And then, I got a bunch of calls to set up visits, and then, a call from an apartment I had visited the day before and really liked, offering me the room! ( I accepted right away.)
So today I went and picked up the keys for my new place. It's in Sarriko, a couple of metro stops outside of the centre, near Bilbao's universities. We've got tenth floor views of the river and hills around the city, and two balconies. My roommates are Xavier, from Barcelona, and Florentino, from Bilbao, who study economics at the Universidad del Pais Vasco. There will be another roommate to come.
We spent the afternoon redecorating. We're subletting the apartment from this old woman, and let's just say all her throw rugs, collages of her dogs, and framed velvet pictures of Jesus feeding the lambs got thrown into the cupboard pretty fast. Even the candy in the crystal candy bowl was about 50 years old.
Tomorrow I move in!
(Above is a picture of the Sarriko metro station! The Bilbao metro's only 10 years old and very high-tech.)
1 comment:
Ooooh ooooh oooh! I want to see apartment pics! I have a newly discovered fondness for velvet art!
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